


Romeo and Juliet Redux

by sophiatab



Category: Private Romeo
Genre: M/M, Male Pregnancy, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:49:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26530024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophiatab/pseuds/sophiatab
Summary: I really loved this interpretation of Rome and Juliet.  Since Glenn and Sam were both alive at the end of the movie, I thought the deserved the best of all possible futures. And we,the fans, deserved some speculation on what went on in the chemistry room.
Kudos: 5





	1. Chemical Love

Glenn Mangan’s heart pounded against his ribs as walked up to the chemistry lab door. Sam Singleton who had lived in his dreams since he transferred to McKinley returned his interest! He had cursed that play too often. They should have them reading Julius Caesar or Twelve Angry Men instead of verses dripping lust and unrequited love. Somewhere reality and secret desires got muddled up as he read Juliet and Sam read Romeo and they were reciting those lines to each other with real feeling or at least as real as Glenn had ever encountered. He had barely managed to sleep last night. All he could think of was how Sam’s mouth had felt on his. 

Of course, certain fears nagged. For all he knew last night could have just been setting him up for far worse humiliation and pain than plastic wrap and duct tape. It wasn’t like an isolated military academy with all their instructors away at a training exercise wasn’t prime territory for a gay bashing. There could be six guys waiting in the chemistry lab with baseball bats. Or they could have hard ons. Gang rape also wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. More homoerotic vibes floated around McKinley Academy then his Dad’s love shack in San Francisco. Glenn was damn sure; he and Sam weren’t the only cadets who thought about doing each other. Ken had been low-key flirting with him since day one and the looks he noticed between Josh and Carlos sometimes were definitely would-be-lovers’ frustrated rage. 

On the other hand if this thing between Sam and him was going to be real, it only opened up a new world of problems. Sam was bound for West Point. And Glenn’s grandfather was bound that he wasn’t going to have a faggot for a grandson which was hypocritical as hell for a man who had made his fortune as a porn king. 

Glenn paused at the doorway and willed his shaking hands to be calm. No, this had to be real. Sam kissed him like he had something to prove. Romeo kissing Juliet at that party. Oh trespass sweetly urged. Give me my sin again. Sam couldn’t have faked that. Those words were engraved on Glenn’s brain now because he knew unlike his somewhat freewheeling California upbringing Sam’s background was enlisted Army stock from the foothills of the Appalachians where gay wasn’t just a deviation. It was a damnation. Glenn took a deep breath, pulled open the door, and his heart soared again!

No lynch mob was there, just Sam looking as gorgeous as ever. His gaze smoldered as hard as the night before even if he looked awkward and nervous at the same time. They eyed each other shyly as they walked to the room. No touching in the hallway because Adam was there too., But that was only right as Adam was keeper of the chemistry room keys. Luckily, Adam seemed completely uninterested in them or what they wanted to do. Their lines from the play spilled from their lips again because they didn’t have any other words for love. Instinct told Glenn that Sam probably had no experience with guys. And while Glenn wasn’t a virgin, he was pretty ignorant of gay erotica, at least where it concerned love and not hot sex. 

When they finally were alone Sam was all over him, undressing him, kissing him, and words not written by Shakespeare, but just as sweet came from his lips. “You’re so beautiful. I never thought I would say that to another guy. I can’t help it with you. I mean I never wanted anybody before, but I can’t stop wanting you.” Sam licked one of his nipples and Glenn felt a shock wave all the way to his toes. Sam’s smile was pure sex. “Last night, I sat under a tree and had my first willing sex fantasy about you.” He said. 

Glenn prodded him just for fun. “First willing?” 

Sam had eyes to drown in. “Yeah, you’ve been fucking me in my dreams for weeks, but last night was the first time I consciously surrendered and just thought about us alone.” A moment later Sam’s gaze changed as pulled down Glenn’s shorts. “God! You’re huge.” 

Glenn had heard that before about his endowments, but never tinged with so much anxiety. Sam reached down to his own shorts and pulled out a bottle of olive oil. “I use this when I whack off. Do you think it’s enough?” 

“Huh?” Glenn couldn’t quite process all that was happening fast enough. 

Sam’s face turned completely red. He leaned into Glenn until their foreheads touched. His eyes burned blue. His voice turned to syrup. “I want the full gay experience. I want you inside me down there.” 

Glenn felt tumbling into free fall. He had expected at the most a limited blowjob, and would have gladly settled for a mutual masturbation. Instead, Sam Singleton the most hyper-masculine guy he knew whose sweat dripped testosterone and could star in the next Captain America movie wanted to bottom for him! Problem Glenn knew what he doing when it came to fellatio, but he never penetrated another guy or been taken that way himself. Here he and Sam were both virgins. Hopefully some of those gay-positive teen books that had been available to him in Beverly Hills had been accurate 

Sam didn’t take the brief silence well at all. His chin started to tremble. “Come on. Don’t make me beg.” 

Glenn snapped back to practical matters and threw his arms around Sam. “I would never want you to beg.” 

Sam nodded. He looked so goddamn vulnerable and cute Glenn wanted to lick every inch of beautiful body, but there wasn’t time for that. They were both as hard as a Panzer Division. He kissed Sam’s cheek. “I want you so much, but we need to move slow.” 

Sam nodded again. “In one of my dreams you wore a jockey’s hat and put a horse bit between my teeth. My sheets were drenched the next morning.” 

Sam definitely had some domination fantasies Glenn realized. Exploring them was going to be fun, but right now he had to figure out how to deflower the dude without causing any damage. He kissed Sam behind the ear. “No, rough stuff for your first time.” He paused then continued with a lot less confidence. “You might want to have something to bite down at first. It can be intense.” 

Sam reached over to their pile of discarded clothes, picked up Glenn’s boxers, and folded them several times. “Think this will do?” 

“Uh, huh,” Glenn responded. It was getting difficult to keep blood in his brain. He wanted to scream, ‘Don’t be so damn sexy or I going to come right now.’ But that would really kill the mood on their first time. Instead he kissed his way down Sam’s spine. 

His lover moaned in appreciation. “Are you this romantic with all your dates?” 

Glenn reassured. “You’re special. I want to keep you.” 

“I want you to keep me,” Sam responded. 

Glenn massaged Sam’s buttocks with both hands. He was hard muscle, but the skin was satiny smooth. Sam arched into the caresses searching for more contact and relaxed under Glenn’s careful ministrations. 

“Why did you stop?” Sam demanded a few moments later. 

“Lube,” Glenn managed to saw without his voice shaking. The olive oil was a good choice. It was what the ancient Greeks used and they were experts at fucking other guys. Glenn coated his fingers and started opening Sam up. His lover was tight as to be expected, but it didn’t seem to be an insurmountable obstacle because Sam certainly seemed to want the contact. Glenn leaned over to Sam’s ear. “Relax, Romeo, I’m going to take good care of you.” 

Sam twisted his head enough to let Glenn kiss him. “It feels good. I want more.” 

But he hissed when Glenn scissored him and popped the folded underwear into his mouth. Glenn applied more lube to his hands and slicked up his boiling erection. He felt like he could explode at any moment, but he had to maintain control long enough to give Sam one hell of a good reach-around. Suddenly he remembered locker room advice about popping cherries. It had sounded sleazy at the time. It still sounded a little sleazy, but if it worked. Well, there was no such thing as a stupid idea if it worked. And since the advice had come from Josh, Glenn knew there was a pretty good chance it would work as well on a guy as a girl. He went back to Sam’s ear and played with the lobe, licking and sucking the soft tab of flesh until he could feel Sam laughing despite the cloth in his mouth. “Trust me,” he whispered to Sam. 

A muffled noise came from Sam’s mouth that sounded like an affirmation. 

Glen gave the ear one more wet kiss; redrew his tongue; then bit down like a human piercing gun while pushing the head of his cock into his lover. Sam froze underneath him and a sound that was definitely not about pleasure came from his muffled mouth. Glenn held himself steady giving his partner time to adjust even though his cock felt dipped in liquid gold. He kissed Sam’s neck and the abused ear lobe until he felt even breathing. “I’m going to make you feel good,” he promised as he reached for Sam’s erection 

Sam wasn’t exactly ungifted in that region either. Arousal had turned him into heated steel. A few seconds of stroking and Sam spat out his gag. “God! You’re good at this!” He exclaimed. 

Glen felt Sam shift beneath him and even more of his erection went into his partner. His pleasure increased tenfold. Apparently, he had a power bottom. With a grunt, Sam shoved himself up Glenn’s entire length. But he still tried to probe carefully. Then an angel’s cry came from Sam’s lips. It looked like he had found the prostate! 

“Are you okay?” Glenn gasped. 

“Stop talking and fuck me good,” Sam responded. 

It wasn’t Shakespeare, but they were guys and guys didn’t talk, they did and Glenn intended to do Sam very well. In the next intense minutes only the sounds of satisfaction echoed around them. Then Sam completely lost it. He exploded in Glenn’s hands with a howl that vibrated through their whole bodies. Glenn released a second later. His dick was a rifle pouring out a full auto. Yeah, this was it. This was what sex with love was suppose to be: an absolute oblivion by intense pleasure. 

They collapsed together on the cool floor awash in sweat. Glenn carefully slid out of Sam. This felt like more than sex. He remembered the joke that had passed between them about this afternoon being holy marriage. Didn’t seem like a joke anymore. He wanted Sam for the rest of their lives. “I think I love you, Romeo.” 

Sam didn’t smile only looked more serious. He pulled Glenn closer for a deep, tongue-twisting kiss. “I totally fucking love you, Juliet.” 

After their bodies cooled they cleaned each other up with bottled water, paper towels, and Ready Wipes. Glenn was relieved to find only oil and semen dripping from Sam. Stretching both arms around his lover’s broad shoulders, he asked the crucial question. "Are you okay?”

“I’m probably going to be sore tomorrow. I’m probably going to enjoy being sore.” He leaned back into Glenn’s arms. "So how was I?

Answering that without sounding stupid wasn't easy. It took awhile for Glenn to find the words. "Everything I always wanted and then everything else that was good in the universe thrown in." 

“Is it always that good?” Sam asked.

Glenn replied honestly. “No, that was the best ever with anyone, guy or girl.“

Sam swung around sharply so, they were face-to-face. “You’ve been with a girl?”

His voice was soft, but not in a good way. Did Sam feel hurt over that admission? Glenn couldn’t let his answer lay unexplained. He confessed the whole sordid story that lead to his enrollment in McKinley. “I tried coming out to my family. My grandfather went ballistic. He wasn’t having a gay grandson. He sent me off to our summer house with a prostitute. Four thousand dollars for the weekend. She got me off twice, but it wasn’t good. It wasn’t even as good as using my own hand. Then Gramps shipped me here.”

Sam shook his head. “Your grandfather thought the best way to cure you of being gay was an all-male military school.”

Glenn tried not to let sadness creep into their wonderful afternoon. “This macho atmosphere was supposed to cure me. Just because my grandfather knows how to make money, doesn’t mean he’s not idiot in other ways. And he’s a hypocrite. His studios have made multi-millions off of gay porn. He’s been in business partnerships with some of the biggest gay names in Hollywood.”

Now Sam seemed even more sad. Glenn cuddled him kissing whatever part was nearest until Sam spoke. “My father would kill me if he knew what just happened. He thinks gays should be stoned.”

Glenn was stunned. Violent homophobia was talked about in Hollywood, mostly in the form of bad rumors about flyover country. It was really frightening to discover how founded in truth those rumors were. It made the Romeo and Juliet nature of their relationship even more real. Now that they had consummated their relationship, he would die rather than deny his love for Sam. Unfortunately, he wasn’t good at steering conversations in other directions at least not where he and Sam were concerned. “I’ve heard you talk in the locker room. How is it with you and girls?” Glenn asked.

“It’s all bullshit what I say in the locker room. I can’t get hard with a woman. If my father knew he would be dragging me to whores. Not the expensive kind on his sergeant’s pay, but he would know where to find something cheap. The bastard’s a hypocrite too. Church every Sunday, but I don’t think he’s ever not cheated on my mother.”

Glenn could tell this really bothered Sam. His own parents weren’t much better in comparison. “My parents have an open marriage. They make sure the other always has their current hook ups number in case there’s an emergency.”  


Sam looked nervous again. “But you don’t want that? I mean this thing, it’s just between us, right?”

It felt like this was a dream or maybe he had died and this was paradise Glenn thought. He climbed onto Sam until their faces were only an inch apart. “I think my parents are idiots.” He felt Sam exhale. His breath was steam on Glenn’s chest despite the cold in the chemistry room. It was the kind of heat that added to a man’s courage. He clamped his hands down on Sam’s shoulders. “Wanna be my boyfriend?” They could only use the term when they were alone, but Glenn wanted to use it often.

Sam’s response was a dazzling smile and a kiss that nearly burned through the roof of Glenn’s mouth. Afterwards Sam slowly raised his gaze up to meet Glenn’s. His golden hair was a crown. His face belonged on a Renaissance angel. “Teach me how to blow you,” Sam said.

With that request nearly every spare drop of blood in Glenn’s body rushed to his groin.

Later they found the beer Adam had left for them. It wasn’t good beer and it was lukewarm, but drinking, kissing and sharing sips from each other’s bottles, kept the atmosphere at love and companionship. It didn’t feel like a date. It felt like life, a good life. But eventually Adam was banging at the door.

“Come to my room tonight. Omar said he would sleep somewhere else. I want to make love in a real bed.” Glenn said.

Sam nodded, one quick kiss and their peace had to end. Except Sam pulled Glenn into a bone-crushing embrace. “I meant every word. I love you, Juliet.”

“I love you to, Romeo,” Glenn responded.


	2. Aftermath

The fallout wasn’t as bad as they had anticipated. Carlos lied and said he broke his wrist hitting the gym floor too hard. And Josh got banged up trying to break his fall. Ken had just misunderstood what he saw and over reacted. They didn’t even get demerits.

Josh and Carlos got room assignments shuffled around until they were living together and suddenly there were no more fights between them. They did each other’s laundry and retired early every night. And when they were outside their room, they bickered like an old couple. Everyone, including their instructors probably, knew what was going on with Josh and Carlos. But nobody said anything because reconstructive dental surgery was painful.

As things were Sam or Glenn just swapped places with Gus or Omar, but Sam realized quickly Glenn was probably hoping for similar official roommate status in the near future. It was the unspoken question every time Glenn uttered the word boyfriend. But being out in public with their relationship like Josh and Carlos scared Sam to his toes. They could handle the fights, but word would get out to his father. Sam knew First Sergeant Singleton’s reaction to a queer son would be an all new level of pain. The rational part of him knew he shouldn’t fear. He was over the age of consent and unlike most every other cadet not dependent on his parents for tuition. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell was the official policy of the United State Armed Forces, and he could keep a secret. Except late at night the rational part fled and he was still a kid afraid of the belt. No matter how tightly Glenn held him it didn’t stop the dreams.

And there were other reasons. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to live with Glenn. No part of his life felt better than the time they spent together. But living together meant exposing things Sam would rather stay hidden like how poor he actually was. Glenn knew his father was an Army NCO and he had a quiver full of siblings. He knew that Sam was at McKinley on a scholarship, but Sam didn’t think that Glenn’s California trust fund brain actually knew what that meant. If Glenn and him lived in the same room all the time, Glenn would realize Sam’s laptop was six-year-old, that his Timex watch wasn’t quirky, it was the best he could afford and that almost all of Sam’s none school wardrobe came from thrift shop gleaming not Abercrombie & Fitch. On his eighteenth birthday Sam unwrapped the leather jacket of his dreams. He felt like crying because there was no way he could even afford a pair of Ralph Lauran socks for Glenn.

He was always tired. He told Glenn it was just stress from worrying about West Point. They slept apart a few nights which only led to him feeling worse. He fainted in the weight room, but luckily only Omar was there. Omar promised to say nothing. Then, Adam asked if he was buying Viagra on the black market and it wasn’t a smartass question. His vomiting broke the code of silence. They let him embrace the porcelain god for a week then Glenn, Gus, Josh, and Adam went to their instructors.  
It was a cold maybe the flu at the worst. Certainly not some plague sent from above for the sin of having anal sex with his boyfriend. But when the county hospital loaded him on helicopter things started to get real. Fear fluttered Sam’s stomach by the time he reached the University Medical Center. He knew this wasn’t God’s punishment for loving Glenn, but stomach cancer was a definite possibility. It ran in his family.

What followed was nothing like a hospital exam however. Sam read the M.D. and M.D., Ph.D. embroidered on their lab coats realized an entire medical team was working on him. They asked questions about his sex life which he refused to answer. This wasn’t an STI. He was a virgin before Glenn and he believed his lover when he said he had been fully tested before coming to McKinley. As for the possibility that Glenn had picked up something having sex with someone else at McKinley, well, he refused to consider that.

It was dark and he was exhausted when they finally put him in a hospital bed. IV’s were in both arms to replace the nutrients he had lost in vomiting. In a sterile room surrounded by medical monitors he contemplated the possibility of death. When he had thought about dying young it was always in the context of heroic sacrifice on the battlefield, not this. Would they let Glenn see him? They had to if he was really dying. If he had one last wish it would be to tell the man he loved, the best part of his life had been the time they were together.

Another doctor came into the room. His clothes were less hospital, a lab coat over a Hawaiian shirt, very faded jeans, and a hippy ponytail. Apparently, they were trying the gentle approach to interrogating him now. Like that was going to work. After the beating he had withstood from his father nothing could really affect him. “Good evening, Sam. I’m Dr. Patterson, but you can call me Doug.” The new doctor said  
  
“Thank you, sir, but I’ll stick with Dr. Patterson. And my sex life is none of your damn business, Dr. Patterson.” Sam said  
  
Dr. Patterson lost his fake smile. He looked better for it. “I can’t say I’m not curious, but I’m not here to out you, Sam. As long as my boyfriend isn’t the one sticking his penis in you, I have higher priorities. Your condition is pretty special and we got to talk.”

Sam just wanted the blunt truth. “Am I dying?”

“There is a risk in what’s happening to you though I must say you are the healthiest young man I’ve ever encountered in your circumstances. Not that there are many of you.” Dr. Patterson said.

So, it was some rare disease. Sam wondered how bad it would get before he actually did die. And he wanted to see Glenn again. They didn’t even have to touch. If he could say I love you again that would be enough.

“Have you been keeping up with the new developments in reproduction? Particularly these recent anomalies that are revolutionizing biology.” Dr. Patterson asked.

“Sir, I have been studying to gain admission to the United States Military Academy. I didn’t have time to waste on revolutionary biology.” Sam said.

The doctor looked unfazed. “But you’ve heard of the Omegas, I presume?” he asked.

Oh God, Dr. Patterson was trying to distract him with wild internet rumors. For the last three weeks all Omar and Adam had talked about was that wild claim out of China about a pregnant man. “Oh, yeah. Men getting pregnant. That’s even more ridiculous than the alien abductees or that Queen Elizabeth is a secret reptile.” Why was the doctor wasting his time on this nonsense? If Dr. Patterson was trying to make small talk in preparation for telling him something bad, the man needed a communication class.

The doctor didn’t let up.“It might not be ridiculous. There are ancient legends and unconfirmed reports from other nations.”

“Unconfirmed, bullshit.” He was really growing angry and he really needed to throw up again. 

Dr. Patterson must have perceived the latter and handed Sam another puke bucket. After he vomited most of his dinner, the doctor wiped his face. A hand came down on Sam’s shoulder not hard enough to make Sam jump like when his own father did that. Dr. Patterson’s voice became very gentle. “Sam, you are going to have change your opinion about that soon. You’re about two-thirds of the way through your first trimester.”  
* * * * * * * *  
It took three days of yelling and some surprisingly productive telephone conversations with his grandfather for Glenn to get to Sam. What he found shocked him. His golden hero/lover was practically catatonic though part of that was possibly the restraints holding him to the bed. Sam’s eyes were dull instead of sparkling and his skin resembled a corpse. IV’s were in both arms. Glenn recognized some of it as the stuff they pumped into people to keep them alive when they didn’t want to be alive. He put his arms around Sam. “What happened?”

When Sam spoke his voice seemed a step into the grave. “My father came. He tried to kill me.”

Glenn saw the bruises on Sam’s throat and chest and his blood ran cold. The threat was real. Sergeant Singleton was a trained killer.

Sam continued “He said I was an abomination, a sign of the End Times, and should be destroyed.”

Sam was always so strong. Now he was almost broken and it hurt like a bashing or a gut shot to see him that way. Glenn steeled himself to be the rock his partner needed. He ignored the hospital rules, let down the safety rail, and climbed into bed with Sam.

“Your father is the abomination. What’s happened is the most incredible miracle since the Virgin Birth.” Glenn said. That was a little egotistical. After all they weren’t the only couple going through these new pregnancies, but Glenn sensed Sam needed a lot of affirmation. His hormones had to be going crazy and the last encounter with his father must have been horrific.

Sam’s eyes narrowed. “I’m getting kicked out of school. I’ve got no family, no money, and by some sort of weird Twilight Zone mutation I’m pregnant. How the fuck is this a miracle?”

Glenn stayed steady. “Because it’s our baby which is something I never dreamed could happen. And you have family. You have me and I got a trust fund higher than the GNP of South America.”

At least Sam returned to only looking depressed, not angry. His voice was still hollow. “You’ve got a grandfather that’s a homophobe.”

Glenn had been hoping to postpone this conversation until Sam felt better. “It’s not good. I know it isn’t right. I realize if it was me that was carrying the baby his attitude would be completely different. If it were just you and me I would say to hell with him, but babies are expensive. You need the best prenatal money can buy. Our child deserves the best chances in life."  


“What the fuck are you talking about?’ Sam shouted in frustration.

Glen quickly kissed his forehead. “Calm down. It’s bad for the baby.” Rubbing Sam’s scalp usually relaxed him. Glenn gently started stroking the spikey golden strands. “I’m sure my grandfather is still a homophobe, but he doesn’t seem to have a problem with me being the type of gay man that gets another man pregnant. You’re carrying his first great-grandchild. He wants to help anyway possible.”

Hopefully, I can keep from punching the hypocritical bastard. Glenn didn’t want to admit everything to Sam yet. Grandfather Mangan had not hesitated to tell the entire Los Angeles Country Club that his grandson got another man, an all-American West Point candidate, pregnant. And his grandfather had a perverse curiosity about how often they had sex and how much lube they had to use. The situation wasn’t ideal. Glenn wouldn’t let his grandfather disrespect Sam, but the money would help. Slowly he outlined his plans. “McKinley credits will transfer to any California high school. We just won’t have the last semester, but there are programs we can use to graduate. How difficult parenthood is will determine how we approach college.”

Sam was silent. Gently Glenn lifted up his face. “Okay, West Point is out and I know that’s a big disappointment for you, but how about Stanford? My mother’s family just paid for their new Ice Hockey stadium.”

Glenn slowly moved his right hand down to Sam’s stomach. Sam stopped breathing for a moment; then, he grasped Glenn’s hand and laid it at the center of his lower abdomen. “This is where it happens. I’m going to grow out like reverse camel.”

Glenn chuckled. He kissed Sam’s neck. “You’re going to glow. You’re going to be beautiful. Well, more beautiful than usual.”

Sam moved closer. “Did you ever think about having a family?”

“Sometimes I fantasized about us adopting an orphan or taking in my slut cousin Courtney’s future neglected children. But that was in the far future. This is beyond all those fantasizes.” Glenn said.

“I’m going to be sick a lot. The doctors say it's a lot worse than with a woman because my body has less experience with the pregnancy hormones.” Sam said.

“I’ll bring you wet cloths and ginger. According to Rosa, ginger is the best thing for morning sickness.” Glenn said.

“Rosa?” Sam asked.

Glenn explained quickly. “She’s the assistant to my grandfather’s majordomo. I sent her your picture. She said you are going to give me a beautiful baby and she wants to make us a Mexican layette.” 

Glenn pressed his nose into his lover’s hair, still spiky soft despite three days in the hospital, and returned to stroking Sam’s belly. For a long time, they didn’t speak. 

“Can you stay here with me tonight?” Sam asked.

Glenn felt Sam tremble under his arms again. “Yeah. The doctors think it would be best. They told me about the nightmares you have been having. It sounds like they are getting worse.”

“It’s hormones,” Sam said, but it was obviously a lie.

“You know, I don’t believe that,” Glenn said. Now that things were so serious he needed Sam to trust him with the whole truth.

“My mother won’t speak to me. That woman been anti-abortion all her life, but she wants me to terminate. Or at least that’s what my Dad tells me.” Sam said. 

“Hey, look at me,” Glenn said.

Sam twisted around until they were facing each other. His eyes were hooded, self-conscious to the point of humiliation. Glenn knew the reason. Nothing scared Sam Singleton like acknowledging his own weaknesses.

“It’s going to be okay. Me and the baby are your family now. The money gives us options most teenage couples can only dream about. We can afford the best: education, childcare, safety and security.” Glenn thought of something else he had imagined for their future, but now seemed like a better time. He pulled off his signet ring and held it up to Sam’s face. “Marry me?”

Sam sighed. “You know that is not possible.”

“You know what I mean. Civil commit to me, doesn’t sound as romantic.” Glenn said. The baby that was part him and part Sam was something so unbelievable that Glenn had never considered such a possible future, but he had thought about a better world for them where gay men could serve openly in the United States military and he and Sam had a ceremony to celebrate their civil commitment. It would have been in some small army chapel with just their closest friends, so they didn’t draw attention. In his dreams he saw Sam standing there in a dress uniform looking, so handsome it was heart-breaking. And he had tried not to cry at the point when his imagination reached the moment when a chaplain, maybe even one that was happy for them, said, “I now pronounce you, husband and husband.” Well, that dream wasn’t going to come true unless he tried. He returned to stroking Sam’s scalp. “I got you pregnant. You got to let me do the right thing.”

Sam kind of smiled at that. After awhile he spoke. “I want to invite my parents. They won’t come, but I want them to know it’s happening.”

Glenn agreed. “Absolutely. Do you want to invite the guys?” He wondered if Sam’s friends from McKinley would accept the invitation. Adam would. His Vermont Senator father would move heaven and hell to make sure Adam was present at a gay wedding. Omar might accept. He had helped out earlier in their relationship. Josh and Gus were greater unknowns, especially with Gus angling for West Point now that Sam was out of the running as McKinley’s top cadet for their year

“We should send them a bunch of the photos of bridesmaid’s dresses and tell them to pick one?” Sam said.

Thank God! his sense of humor was trickling back. But the trembling returned. Glenn increased his hold crushing his lover as close as he dared. “It’s okay. Everything is going to be okay. We’ll write a new sequel to Shakespeare. Juliet got Romeo pregnant and they lived happily ever after.”

“Don’t leave me,” Sam asked.

“Never,” Glenn vowed.


	3. Two Weeks Later

California wasn’t what Sam expected. The Mangan mansion was bigger than most multi-family military housing he had lived in. The family was a freak show. Glenn’s mother was a professional astrologer. His father was chief legal counsel to a porn conglomerate. And Grandfather Mangan reminded Sam of an infantry officer without troops to command which was a dangerous combination. The first time Grandfather Mangan referred to him as Glenn’s baby mamma, Sam yearned to slug the old man. Still it beat the lack of communication from his own family. All telephone calls had been refused. All emails blocked.

He glanced at the mantel clock in the guest room he had been confined to since early morning. Three more hours. He really needed Glenn to quill the shaking in his stomach or he was going to vomit all over his grey morning suit. He hated the thing, but at least it wasn’t white lace which he secretly suspected Grandfather Mangan would have preferred.

A knock on the door brought Adam, Josh, Omar, and Gus. Thank God! Their suits broke the tension. He had to laugh and wondered if the wedding coordinator had picked them out for that reason. The light grey morning suits had striped trousers that matched the color of the grooms’ maids bright pink dresses. Their vests had pink roses. Adam held up his fuchsia tie. “So, are we like bridesmaids after all?”

“Grooms’ men. Glenn’s cousins are the grooms’ maids. You’ll like them. They’re hot. The blonde’s a slut.” Sam said.

“Dibs on the blonde,” Adam said.

Gus was more serious. “How are you holding up?"

Sam answered honestly. “My back aches. I am gaining weight. And I throw up every two hours.” 

“I owe my mother a lot of chocolates and roses,” Omar said.

“That’s for damn sure,” Sam said.

Gus was still concerned, but Sam sensed the ribbing was about to begin. “Glenn treat you okay? Does he bring you plenty of pickles and ice cream?”

“It’s avocados and vanilla-mango shakes,” Sam replied.

Gus pulled a stack of business cards from his pocket and handed them to Sam. “My mom’s a good counselor. She’s worked with a lot of young couples. She says all the money in the world isn’t going to stop some of the problems and she wants you to feel free to contact her or any of her colleagues.”

Rosa came in, made them take off their jackets, put caterer’s smocks on backwards, and served them chicken enchiladas, spinach salad, and Nuremberg ginger bread with fresh whipped cream. She brought Corona Lights and a tray of vanilla-mango milkshakes and handed Sam a glass immediately. “You’re a big boy, Sam. The baby is going to have big bones. You need all the calcium you can get.” 

Sam didn’t try to explain it until after she left. “She’s been stuffing me with food since I got here.”

“How long has she been with the family?” Adam asked.

The question seemed strange. Then Sam remembered Adam came from money older than Glenn’s. “Decades I think,” Sam said.

“She’s going to try to take over raising that baby,” Adam teased.

“We could use the help,” Sam said. This was the first time he had admitted his fears about parenting to anyone. They were woefully unprepared. Glenn had only learned how to do his own laundry when he transferred to McKinley. And the Singleton household had been sexually segregated in domestic chores. Sam was great at yard work. He didn’t know a damn thing about diapers.

Josh stopped being a cynical jerk for a moment and touched Sam’s shoulder. “You’re going to be great parents. You both want your kid. Most of us ended up in McKinley because our parents didn’t want us around.” And the cynical jerk was back. But the only thing Sam regretted was not insisting on having Carlos here also. It would have been great to watch Josh and Carlos squirm during the reception. Too bad they didn’t have something like a bouquet he could beam Josh with before he and Glenn left for Palm Springs.

After lunch, Adam helped Sam redress. It felt odd to be taken care of like that, but wasn't that part of the traditional role of groomsmen even if this was a most unusual wedding. Adam noticed the new cuff links. "David Yurman. Glenn is definitely upscaling your taste."

"Come on, they're weren't that expensive," Sam said. He noticed Adam's incredulous look. "Glenn's mom said they were only thirty-seven fifty."

Adam's face went serious. "That's thirty-seven hundred and fifty dollars. My father buys his from estate sales where they run about half that, but Beverly Hills doesn't do secondhand. These are straight from Rodeo Drive."

Sam heard himself gulp. That was more than his father made in a month.

Adam didn't change his expression. "Let Glenn's family spoil you. You're giving them a grandchild through a very risky medical situation that's never happened before in human history." Then without warning Adam hugged him. Adam didn't hug people. "Take care of yourself," Adam whispered.

“Who is going to walk Sam down the aisle?” Omar asked.

“I use to be his roommate,” Gus said.

“I’m the oldest among us,” Josh said  
.  
“And I am the guy that provided the opportunity for Glenn to knock him up.”. Adam looked directly at Sam. “Do the math, you probably conceived that kid in the chemistry lab.”

“I don’t need anybody to walk me down the aisle,” Sam said.

Then Sam heard a voice he hadn’t heard in weeks. “I would like to walk Sam down the aisle. If he’ll let me.”

Sam turned toward the voice. His mother was there. She was wearing the dress she had told him about during his last break. The dress from the fine department store that she had put on lay-away to wear to his graduation. Her hair had been styled and she wore a little bit of make-up artfully applied. But even without all that fanciness which was so unusual for her, she would still be most beautiful woman in the world to him. Sam went to her. Happiness swelling with every step. “Dad, let you come?”

Mrs. Singleton embraced her son. ”I imagine he’s still screaming and smashing things. I told him my baby is having a baby and needs me.”

She took both her son’s hands. “Sam, what’s happened to you has forced me to really think. I don’t know a lot, but I do know the Devil cannot make a baby. So, if God gave you and Glenn a child, it’s a blessing. I was your age when I was carrying you. I was so afraid. I can’t even imagine what you must be going through.”

Sam reassured his mother. “I’m strong. I’m young. The doctors all say I’m the healthiest pregnant man they’ve ever encountered. And Glenn’s been great. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

“I met Glenn earlier today. He’s not who I expected you would marry, but he’s everything I’ve ever wanted for you.” Mrs. Singleton said.

Now Sam truly was shocked. His mother who considered her Bible a field manual and prayed multiple times a day to convert the world to her form of Christianity wanted him in a gay relationship.

She must have read the surprise in his expression. “That boy loves you with his whole heart. Those feelings can only be blessed by God. Promise me you’ll pray for each other and that you’ll pray for your baby.”

He nodded. Mrs. Singleton straightened her son’s tie. Gus brought her a corsage. “And I’ll deal with your father. You don’t need to worry about him.” She said.  
  
He saw the wedding coordinator coming closer. His stomach fluttered, but he realized it wasn’t nausea. This was happening. His future was happening and it was going to be great.


End file.
